Days Long Lost
by SheyConYamo
Summary: An ancient past, a present problem, and everything in between. When an unexpected discovery uncovers long forgotten hardships, will Coran be able to cope with the strain of his history? Will he and the others be able to piece together the puzzle being laid before them before things get out of hand? Rated M for later chapters.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Voltron: Legendary Defender. All belongs to Dreamworks. I only claim the storyline and OC's.**

* * *

 **.:Prologue:.**

Cold air rang loudly with the echo of the alarm. Vaulted ceilings and harsh metal amplified the noise as it rang loudly through the long halls. Track lights illuminated moving figures as they made their way through the base, their quick steps sounding muffled compared the blare of the alarm's siren.

"Lord Ira, status, now."

In the control room, a lone male stood at the panel, eyes scanning the screens ardently. "They're far out, but we don't have much time." In no more time than it took him to readjust the settings, he heard the doorway behind him open.

"How much time is 'not much time'?"

Ira turned to regard the others, his expression grim. "Not long." His deceptively young face held a somber expression. "We need to get into the pods and shut down. With the interference in the belt and scatter protocol, they should overlook us."

"Let's do it."

Ira's teal eyes met the golden brown of the person he trusted most. "Get the others loaded up."

Io nodded before turning to her task. "You heard him. Come on, everyone."

Ira listened just barely as he input the code sequences. He heard the first four pods roll up, the fluttering ping and metallic clicks as they activated and the fine hiss as the cryofields flared to life. He was ready long before the fourth pod slid back into the floor, the protective hatch closing over it. He felt her presence before she announced it.

Io, standing a full head taller than her lord kept her gaze focused on the screens. "Ready for shut down, right?"

Ira kept his eyes on the panel. "Yes. Just one last button push."

"Good." Io took a step back, gesturing to his pod. "In you go. I'll be right behind you."

Ira kept his place. His pause had already stretched too long. "I really think I should be the one to initiate. I know this system better than any of you."

Io's soft breath of a scoff was the best show of emotion ever garnered through her stoic visage, usually only reserved for moments they were alone. "You said yourself. One button push. I think I can manage."

Ira couldn't help a smile. He turned, slower than necessary. "Very true. You certainly can." He regarded her angular features, emerald marks, and darkest of black hair tied back in a tight tail high on her head. "But I think I would feel better knowing you are safe and sound." He wasn't lying.

Io raised a thin fine brow as she looked down at him. "Perhaps. But you know protocol. You first."

Ira felt his expression dip. It was true. His pod was the most secure. And it was her duty, as his most trusted, as his closest aid, his most loyal servant… his Chevalier, to protect him above all else.

The alarm that hadn't stopped ringing through this ordeal seemed to break through his thoughts. Along with her hand on his shoulder. "Come along. Time for the freeze." She spoke gently, almost like a mother to a child. Amusing, being he was her elder, despite his youthful appearance.

"Io…" his voice was softer than he'd intended. He felt her movements halt through the contact of her hand. He looked up, her concerned eyes meeting his gaze. "Come here," he commanded, strength returning to his voice, if only barely.

Io didn't hesitate to move closer, her concern having cracked her usually stoic mask. "Lord Ira-"

Ira clenched his eyes shut as his arms held fast. It had been a long time since he'd held her so closely.

Io was stiff against the hug he'd surprised her with, but for only a moment. She returned his embrace, crouching lightly as she leaned into his hold, his shorter stature making it slightly awkward, but it was clear she'd returned this affection before. "It'll be alright," she said, a comforting note in her voice. "Your plans always work. We'll make it out of this."

Ira opened his eyes slowly. The alarm seemed so loud. The track lights seemed so bright. "I know," he whispered. The needle slipped out of his sleeve with practiced ease. He moved his arm, flicked his wrist, and just like that, pricked the large muscle of her back. Her shoulders tensed, and when they moved to part, her expression radiated pure confusion. "We'll make it. We always do," he said, his own voice reassuring against the ache that suddenly sprung up in his chest.

Io's eyes grew wide as she stepped forward, only to grow heavy as her legs tremored. "Ira…"

He caught her as her knees gave out. He kept eye contact as her expression started to waver, the drug starting to do it's job quickly, as intended. "It'll be okay," he whispered. "I promise."

 **.:\\\v/:.**

* * *

 **Thank you for the read! Have a good day, or night and a wonderful time~  
**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Voltron: Legendary Defender. All belongs to Dreamworks. I only claim the storyline and OC's.**

* * *

 **.:Chapter 1:.**

"I don't know how you lot expect to get _anything_ done if you insist on acting like a bunch of juvenile Unilu!"

Pidge, Hunk and Lance, all on the floor cross-legged, looked up to Coran with meek expressions.

They had trashed the kitchen. Again.

Green goo was smeared over nearly every surface while dishes, cutlery and now spent supplies littered the cabinets and floors. They had even managed to break off the pantry door and somehow dislodge the dish collector. Considering the collector was mounted into the cabinet and bolted to the floor, they had managed quite the feat.

Lance groaned. "But, Coran-"

"NO BUTS!" Coran suddenly spouted, a glare worth the nova star they'd passed not too long ago hot enough to singe the hair of their eyebrows. "I thought we'd moved passed all this!"

Pidge couldn't help slumping in embarrassment. "Well, we have… right guys?" she glanced to the others, pointedly avoiding eye contact with the angry advisor.

"Yeah, of course!" Hunk said cheerfully, only to avert his own gaze as the sizzly stare was leveled on him. "But, you know… we kinda get… I dunno… restless, sometimes," his voice trailed off as he cringed into himself.

Lance sighed, resting his elbows on his knees. "Okay, look! Yeah, we've passed all this, but it's kind of like a sibling thing. We gotta fight each other every now and then."

Coran's sudden movement, standing straight as a board and crossing his arms, made them all stiffen in response. "That is the poorest excuse I've heard in a _long_ time. Poorer I think than the time Allura tried to convince her father she chopped her hair off because she got it stuck in her vanity drawer."

Pidge perked up. "Allura cut her hair off once?"

"Yes," Coran answered, closing his eyes momentarily with a sharp nod. "But it happened during an unsupervised training accident with a droid." He made a face as his eyebrow twitched. "We were all rather displeased with a that incident- NEVERTHELESS!" he shouted, his glare back with a vengeance as he pointed to them, "You should all be behaving yourselves like proper residents of this castle and as the paladins you are! Not angry children trashing the place in a spat!"

"Okay, okay!" Lance countered, crossing his arms as he leaned away. "We get it, we'll clean this place up."

Coran's eyes narrowed as he rested his hands to his hips. "You'll clean it, repair it, organize it, wax it, and shine it so it glimmers brighter than the ship's outer hull. Understood!"

Hunk raised his head for a moment only to tilt it in confusion. "The outer hull glimmers?"

"You heard me!" Coran shot before turning on his heal.

The three watched him, each one sulking lightly as he paced away.

Coran managed to make it to the door before halting his steps with a slight squeak, his boot sliding just barely on a patch of food goo.

The paladins came to attention immediately, watching him carefully for another outburst.

Instead, the elder sighed. His shoulders dipped lightly before he finally turned back to them, his expression a lot less aggravated and a lot more understanding. "Listen… I know we've all got a case of being on edge right now. But that's no excuse for needless squabbling. Or breaking of necessary equipment," he added, brow raising as he regarded them.

The three's expressions of regret were marred with the somberness of the sudden mood change.

Everyone was indeed on edge.

After Lotor and Allura's journey into the white hole and brief stint in Oriande they had been rather… charged. If that was a way to put it. It was as if the experience the two royals had gone through had radiated to the others. And with nothing currently to occupy them, no major conflicts having yet popped up in the last few days, they hadn't had much in the way of getting that sudden pent up energy out. That, coupled with the nerves they were all feeling at the absence of information from the Blades of Marmora, the rebel coalition and… well everywhere else, was causing an almost physical strain on them all.

"You know, they could at least act like we still exist," Lance suddenly grumbled.

Coran's expression flickered to surprise before falling into a more serious mask. "That's hardly the case, Lance," he said. He knew the youth was referring to Lotor and Allura. They'd been cooped up in the imperial archives for most of the last few days, leaving Coran and the other paladins to their own devices. "They have important work to do after all," he reasoned. He wasn't sure if he was trying to reassure Lance or himself.

"Yeah, yeah," Hunk suddenly cut in with a sigh. "Altean magic and blah, blah, we know." He moved to stand and headed for the still dislodged dish collector.

Coran heaved his own sigh, disregarding the irreverence in the younger's voice. He watched as the others got up to start helping. Aggravating or not, he couldn't really blame them. And it was certainly reassuring to see them fall right in and assist each other as if they hadn't just been at each other's throats only minutes ago. He moved to step back into the room.

"No, no, Coran," Lance suddenly shot, looking up from picking up dishes off the floor. "We made this mess, we'll clean it up." He smiled apologetically. "You go do what you gotta do."

Coran blinked in surprise. He had been on his way to a… certain task, before being distracted by the ruckus. "Well, so long as you put everything like it was," he said, his own quirky smile surfacing. He raised a hand and wagged a finger. "No alterations or _upgrades_ , you hear?" he quipped.

Pidge looked over her shoulder with a smirk. "Yeah, yeah!"

He let out a light chuckle before doing exactly as Lance had said, exiting without another word. His restored humor didn't last long, however.

He made his way down the corridor, his steps leading him slowly but surely through the castle's expansive halls to the library. He'd had a lot on his mind as well. Though, he knew it consisted of slightly different subject matter than that of the others' reflections.

He was quiet as he stood before the library's ornate door. The panels slid open with the customary hiss and he stepped over the threshold, gaze traveling upward to regard the library's illuminated atrium. It was built similarly to a domed greenhouse, but instead of fruit trees and flower bushes it held spires of data modules, each one flickering and clicking with it's own individual nuance, creating a sensation of being surrounded by soothing windchimes. Another sigh escaped him. While the castle library was certainly noteworthy, it wasn't quite his preference, though he'd never admit it for the sake of his grandfather's name. He had always been fond of first-hand learning, being in the thick of an environment, elbow deep in a problem to solve. He always learned best that way, despite being taught to be a healthy scholar. That being said, he was reminded of a glaringly obvious issue, if only obvious to himself.

He wasn't entirely sure why he was here.

He'd decided to visit the library on a whim really. He didn't currently have a need to. His mind was it's own library of knowledge. He knew plenty he needed to know about quite a many subjects, if he did say so himself. Though, he was humble enough to admit he didn't know everything.

 _Well that's just it, isn't it._ The thought drifted through Coran's mind as his gaze drifted down one of the spires, eyes detailing each and every little nook, cranny and crevice. _Not that I'd want to know everything… but why didn't I know that?_ His shoulders felt heavy as his eyes fell to the floor.

Alfor had been a great scholar. A great researcher, a dedicated student of his arts, whatever the were. The greatest of all of course being his mastery of Altean alchemy. He had truly outshined all in that regard. And now he knew why.

Oriande.

Coran's face was solemn as he felt his fists clench almost reflexively.

He had known Alfor his whole life, and visa-versa. The two had literally grown up together, as his grandfather had been in service of the royal line from a young age, and his mother before him. It had in fact been a regular joke between them that their own children would grow up together like siblings. They had shared so much, so many experiences over their lifetimes, good, bad, strange, and amazing. As far as he'd known, aside from Alfor's own darling wife, he was the closest individual to him.

So why had Alfor never told him about Oriande.

Such a truly awesome, powerful and enlightening experience. The pure elation that had been utterly radiating from Princess Allura had been enough to fill the room when she and Lotor had returned. Even Lotor seemed truly inspired by the event. And yet…

Coran closed his eyes. "And yet, you never told me."

He supposed it was selfish of him, to feel this way; to feel as if he'd been left out in the dark. Though, he knew it wasn't the simple knowledge of it that bothered him. He'd lived nearly his whole life believing Oriande was a myth. While it being reality was truly astonishing, it made no difference overall. It was, in essence, just more knowledge to add to the ever-expending archive of his own mind.

No, it wasn't knowing that Oriande was real that was suddenly burrowing under his skin like a Malorian sheet worm.

It was knowing that Alfor hadn't trusted him enough to share that with him.

Coran opened his eyes, though his gaze remained fixed on the same spot of the library floor. It was quiet except for the gentle noises of the modules. He didn't move a muscle as he listened, trying to let his mind empty out and grow silent.

But it didn't.

He allowed his eyes to close again as he took in a slow, deep breath. _It really shouldn't bother me like this,_ he thought. _We all have a right to keep things private if we feel the need_. The words were genuine. But they felt empty to his own mind. After all, Alfor had been privy to every single detail of Coran's life. Literally. Every little fact and tidbit, even the stuff he hadn't been involved with personally, had been made known to the king in one way or another. And then, come to find out, it was the _king_ who felt the need to keep secrets. Even from someone he apparently trusted so much.

Coran felt his eyebrows draw down as his eyes remained closed. _I guess… it doesn't matter now._

Another deep breath. Another moment of silence.

Coran finally opened his eyes and brushed off his shoulders. "Enough of this," he muttered, adjusting his collar even though there was hardly a need. "I've got more important things to do-"

"Coran!"

"DEHEUAHAAHH-yes!" Coran jumped nearly a foot off the ground as his head jolted to the door panel. "Shiro! Yes! What is it?" he asked quickly before clearing his throat and standing straight.

The comm came to life again with Shiro's voice. "I need you on the bridge. I'm getting… a signal. And I think you need to hear it."

Coran's brow raised nearly to his hairline. "Oh?" He eyed the door curiously.

"Just… come to the bridge."

Coran felt a tingle of anxiety trickle down his spine. _Well, that doesn't sound good,_ he thought. "On my way."

 **.:~*~:.**

Coran stared at the holo-screen as he listened to what equated to background noise from the others. He glanced to Pidge, working fervently, before directing his attention back to the data.

It was an Altean distress signal.

While his initial reaction had been to comm into the imperial archives and yell at Lotor for pulling another stunt on them, it became quickly apparent that this was not the newly crowned emperor's doing. One, he was with Allura and was therefore not free to organize another sick prank. Two, this particular signal was _not_ one Lotor would have been capable of acquiring.

After his initial emotional outburst had run it's course, Coran had taken the time to listen to the signal and actually pay attention to which one it was. It had taken a moment because it was such an old signal he'd forgotten it's specifics. But once the information had finally floated to the surface, he'd been absolutely floored.

It was an "Imminent Failure" distress beacon. This signal was sent out as part of an Emergency System Override protocol that was integrated into the operating systems of older Altean installations during a time in which the installation in question was suffering a catastrophic loss of power. The reason for this protocol demanded his and Allura's undivided attention.

There were living Alteans aboard this installation. Specifically, Alteans that were in stasis pods.

This protocol enacted in the event that an installation in hibernation, or a state of low function, while also having the occupants in cryogenic stasis, suffered a power failure, but for some reason, the emergency override did not activate the stasis pods and wake up said occupants. It was literally the last resort of any installation in an attempt to save the still sleeping service members from an untimely death.

Which meant, among other things, they needed to hurry.

Coran looked back to Pidge. She was the embodiment of focus. He crossed his arms in front of him and gripped his chin, eyes darting back to the screen. Pidge was trying to clarify the coordinates the signal was broadcasting. Unfortunately, the signal itself was damaged, fragmented, creating an issue similar to static over a comm line. The best they had currently was a general direction of where it had come from. Which was all well and good, but in regards to intergalactic travel, pointing a finger and saying "that way" was hardly helpful.

"Maybe if we started in that direction the signal would become clearer," Lance said suddenly, scratching the back of his head as he regarded the screen with the others.

"Proximity isn't the issue, so that wouldn't help," Pidge said mechanically, her fingers tapping away as she continued her work.

"The issue is with how the signal is generated," Hunk clarified, his own hands working on his screens as he analyzed the signal pattern. "This is something caused by…" Hunk stopped, glanced to Lance and raised a brow. "Uuh, to put it simply, it's likely the software is corrupted. It could be a virus causing this or even bugs and kinks due to not being maintained properly over… how old did you say this signal was again?" Hunk asked, looking to Coran.

Coran straightened as he re-crossed his arms behind his back. "Well, if memory serves, this signal was nearly completely out of use by the time the Castle of Lions was built. Newer generations of Altean technology compensated for the-"

"The point is!" Lance cut in, clearly not eager for a full on lecture of Altean programming, "this signal is super, super old, so the ship it's coming from is super, super old, so therefore, it's just not working very well?"

Coran raised a brow. "That's one way to put it." He then glanced back to the screen, the fragmented lines still flickering wildly. "However, it wouldn't be a ship. It'll be a base, similar in design to this castle."

Shiro tilted his head as he looked to Coran curiously. "I thought you said it predated the castle?"

"It does," Coran answered. "The concept of the Castle of Lions was based loosely on these older Altean constructs. No need to re-invent the wheel, just make improvements to it."

"What purpose did these older constructs serve, exactly?" questioned Lotor, his smooth voice carrying that note of curiosity that had been prevalent in him as of late.

Coran looked at him, his brow raising another notch. _Why_ exactly Lotor needed to be here for this, he wasn't sure. But, he had decided it best to focus on the issue at hand instead of questioning the princess on her choice to include him. That of course meant answering the question. "Several."

Coran glanced back to the holo-screen before stepping up to his console. He took over the main screen and accessed the necessary files within seconds. "A lot of the installations predate Alfor's rein, and subsequently, the time of the alliance between himself and the other world rulers." He pulled up several images. "Some of them were ancient even by _our_ standards." He started shifting through the available pictures, each one displaying a structure that consisted of a primary tower with interconnected smaller towers trailing away. Each one did, in fact, bear a resemblance to the castle; some mounted directly into cliff faces, some nestled in mountain ranges, standing peacefully in valleys, and a few others that seemed to be more specially inclined, one floating in the ring of a gas giant and another shown to be shadowed in the crater of what appeared to be a moon. "Some were so old, we weren't sure what their original purpose was. However, most of them were research facilities, military outposts or even exploratory bases dedicated to collecting and studying information from the area in which they were built."

"Fascinating," Lotor commented. "And what become of the oldest ones?"

Coran crossed his arms and tugged at his mustache. "Well, they were either left to nature or repurposed depending on their state at any given time. Some that couldn't be upgraded were even deconstructed to recycle the materials."

Allura took a step forward, eyeing the pictures. "I remember these."

"Oh?" Coran looked to her with amusement. "You've only been to three- four, that I remember."

Allura returned his gaze with her own smile. "Part of my studies. I remember from when I was tutored on architecture and then the evolution of domain programming."

Coran couldn't help a twinkle in his eye. Allura had always been one for learning. "Ah, yes, that's right. That's why you visited a couple of them, isn't it?" He looked back to the images brightly. But his small smile dropped. "We need to hurry," he said, his voice suddenly grim.

"I'm doing the best I can," Pidge said distractedly.

"I know," Coran responded. "Take your time." His eyes were glued to the screen, gaze drifting from one image to the next.

"Which one do you think it is?" Allura questioned, almost as if reading his mind.

Coran was still a moment before heaving a sigh. "There's no telling." He could have expanded further, but purposely chose to keep quiet. His speculation would only be… depressing, at best.

After all, he was well aware that three quarters of the bases pictured had been overtaken by Galra forces some time before the final battle at Altea. The other portion had been either under attack or off the radar by the time he'd had his last moments with Alfor. And after that, he'd been the one to pilot the Castle of Lions through the wormhole Alfor had opened to the planet Arus and had terminated communication as ordered. With all the final preparations he'd been making, the last thing that had been on his mind was the welfare of the perimeter installations.

 _Wait… No!_ Coran's mind suddenly stalled as a memory shot through his mind like lightning in the dark. His eyes instinctively scanned for an image he already knew wasn't there. _It couldn't be-_

"There we go!" Pidge erupted. "That should clean it up for us." With just a few more keystrokes the screen was muted, and the navigation field activated. The holo-forms moved quickly to a quadrant quite far from inhabited sectors, the coordinates flaring to life in a sector near the fringes of the brightly lit map. "Kind of out there in the middle of nowhere, isn't it," Pidge asked as much as stated.

The room was strangely silent. Eyes started to dart from the coordinate display to the elder Altean who had been expected to speak.

Coran was frozen in his spot, hands gripping the console like a vise as his gaze remained fixed on the map. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and hear the blood rushing in his ears. He wasn't sure what it was that had him locked in place; shock, horror, nostalgia, hope? A whole myriad of emotions was bombarding his insides as he stared at the location emblazoned in bright holographic clarity in front of everyone.

If it hadn't been for the inner torrent, he may have jumped at the pressure on his shoulder.

"Coran, are you alright? What's wrong?" Allura asked, concern flickering in her voice.

Coran blinked rapidly, but failed to move. _Do something, say something!_ He shouted mentally. "It's… a research facility." His voice was strained to his own ears. "As you can see, it is located on the outermost perimeter of documented space." He finally moved, releasing his grip of the console only to clench his fists tightly as he stood straight, eyes still glued to the map.

Shiro looked from Coran's grim expression to the display and back. "Aren't you going to pull up the file on it?" he asked.

Coran shook his head. "There isn't one."

Allura's grip tightened on his shoulder. "What do you mean? We have files on every aspect of Altean scientific resear-"

"Not this one," Coran interrupted solemnly, his fists trembling at his sides. He could feel his expression seeming to grow darker, but it was only his attempt to keep himself reigned in.

This was the last thing he'd expected.

"This base in particular was part of special project that Alfor had going with Lord Ira," he said quietly.

"Lord Ira!?" Allura's almost childlike surprise would have been comical in any other situation. "I haven't heard that name since…" She grew quiet as she descended into thought. "Since before the war started. In fact," she looked to the floor, "I don't believe I saw Ira again… after the war started." She looked to Coran, new curiosity laced with suspicion coloring her face. "What was this project?"

Coran's eyes never left the map. He didn't move a muscle. "I don't know."

"What?" Lance shot. "Did I just hear you right?"

"Yes," Coran answered.

"Hold on!" Lance stepped back to look at Coran, throwing his arms out in disbelief. "You never 'don't know', Coran. You know everything! How do you not know?"

"Simple. I was never told." Coran finally took his eyes from the display, his gaze dropping to the console. "This project was kept with utmost secrecy, so much so that no one else even knew it existed. Alfor was strict and careful never to leave traces of it in any data bank, only discussing it in the most private and closed settings. While myself and only a few others know _of it_ , the only people who know what it was were Alfor and Ira."

"What about Io?"

The room went quiet at Allura's question as an answer wasn't immediately given.

Coran remained still once again, his eyes looking at the console but not seeing it. Her question was to be expected. Logically, it was the next question in the que. After all, Allura had known of Io as well. She was the only one in this room who had personally known both Ira and Io just as he had. He finally forced a deep breath. "No. She was not privy to that information either."

Allura was still a moment before looking back to the screen. "That… doesn't make any sense."

"Um." Everyone's gazes turned to Hunk, who sat pushing his fingers together. "Is this bad?"

Coran's gaze travelled back to the map. Too much was running through his mind. It felt heavy and it was hard to think. "I don't know," he answered honestly. Allura's grip tightened on his shoulder once more.

"There's only one way to find out," she said.

"Agreed," chimed Shiro. "Everyone suit up. We're out in ten."

"Will you need assistance?"

Lotor's voice cut through the fog of his mind like a knife and like blood from a wound, sudden anger surged into Coran's consciousness. "I think we can handle this just fine ourselves, thank you," Coran shot, none-too-politely. He turned sharply on his heel and made his way to the main entry, walking so fast he nearly made it to the threshold before the door could open. The awkward, thundering silence left in his wake wasn't even enough to slow his steps as he hurried through. He wasn't of a present mind to care.

In fact, he was rather certain he was about to lose his mind.

It didn't matter his fast pace, and certainly if he started running it wouldn't matter either. He couldn't escape the memories and emotions that were flooding into the space between his ears and mixing together in a colorful kaleidoscope of sensation. And none of it was mixing well. He was sick to his stomach and weak in his limbs. He was afraid if he didn't keep walking he'd surely collapse from the weight of it all.

"Coran!"

"What!" He stopped short and turned so fast his vision lagged in catching up. When it did, he realized he'd spouted off to Allura herself. His mind was so worked up, he almost didn't care.

Almost.

She was obviously taken aback, her own steps faltering for a moment. Coran immediately closed his eyes and lowered his head, turning away as he did so. "Princess… I'm s-"

"I don't care." Allura's hand was on his shoulder and she was moving to face him. "Coran, what is wrong?"

There was a note in her voice that made his eyes fly open. Her expression mirrored it blatantly.

Panic.

The chaos swirling in his mind started to ease as concern rushed in to take over. The last thing he wanted was to upset Allura, no matter how hard this was for him. "Please, don't… it's okay-"

"Don't lie to me!" she insisted, gripping his shoulders tightly. "I've never seen you like this, what's going on?" she pressed desperately.

Now that he thought about it, this probably was a shock for her. He always kept his inner emotions to himself, even if he didn't want to. An entire life of service to the royal line had given him plenty of experiences to teach him that his emotions came second and the will of the sovereign came first… no matter the situation.

Coran closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He held it for a moment, before letting it out as slowly as he could manage. He was thankful for her patience as he felt his shoulders sink. He opened his eyes slowly, meeting her pink-hued blue that shined so brightly with concern. "It's… it was just… a bit much," he uttered softly.

Allura shook her head, eyebrows drawing down in confusion. "How so?"

He was quiet as he regarded her, the myriad of sensations formerly storming through his mind finally trying to calm into a more reasonable semblance. Even so, he wasn't sure where to start. He glanced away, gaze hitting the bulkhead just next to them. He forced himself to focus on the smooth surface. As he stayed quiet and still, the memories started flowing instead of churning and the feelings associated with them started humming instead of bellowing. He took another deep breath as his consciousness started to level out and he let his eyes close once more as his head dipped down.

Failing holo-screens, sparks and electricity flying, explosions in the distance and a darkened sky met his closed eyes. "The final battle…" he breathed. "It was too much." Alfor's voice rang in his head, his last orders echoing in the dark. "Knowing that destruction was imminent, that it may be the last time seeing everything like it was…" He clenched his fists tightly against the emotion welling in his chest. "Waking up to my fears being realized…" He could feel his heartbeat in his ears again. "Throwing myself into action, just like you had to, like we all had to… because we had no choice. And taking no time to think about it because we couldn't." His fists were shaking again. He could feel his brows drawing down as his expression became pained. "And… now… a blatant reminder of the past… of what used to be… of what no longer exists." His voice was a mere whisper as he kept his eyes shut tight. "It just brought back… everything." He couldn't do it. He couldn't speak anymore. His throat ached and he could feel burning in his eyes.

And he had only managed to scratch the surface.

He shook his head just barely. He needed to go. Leave her sight, if only for a few minutes. "I'm sor-"

A light gasp escaped him, interrupting his apology as he felt her arms tightly coiled around his neck. He opened his eyes and stared at the floor dumbly as she held him close, standing on her toes to leave as little space as possible between them. His arms felt weak at his sides as he stood motionless under her hold.

"It's alright, Coran," Allura whispered. "I know… I know how you feel." Her voice trembled and her breath hitched.

And that did him in.

Coran closed his eyes tight once more, but it didn't stop the hot trails rolling down his cheeks. He found strength in his arms and returned her embrace, holding her close as he leaned in to her. So many words and broken sentences rushed into his mind, but he couldn't string them together well enough to say anything. And even though it was on the tip of his tongue, he couldn't even manage to grate out a simple thank you.

Instead, he did his best to control his breathing. He did his best to keep himself upright. He leaned his cheek to her hair as he felt her shuddering in his arms. He heard as much as felt her sniffling against his shoulder.

They stood there, oblivious to the rest of the castle around them, as they let their emotions run their course, secure in each other's arms.

 **.:~*~:.**

Even for an asteroid belt, this seemed a bit excessive.

Coran's eyebrow twitched as he focused on the front view, eyes darting back and forth between that and his console display. He could feel the tension from everyone else as they all watched their respective corners. Allura was uncharacteristically quiet as she focused on moving through, taking subtle cues from Coran and the others as needed. Lotor, at Coran's side, was providing a second pair of eyes on another screen dedicated to the overall view of the debris field around them.

Coran understood the princess's reasoning in bringing Lotor along, and while he certainly didn't hesitate to do as they asked, that didn't mean Coran agreed that the Galran royal should be there. Even so, he wasn't of a place to protest either, despite his and Allura's moment away from everybody. Regardless of emotional status, they still had a job to do, which meant utilizing all possible assets.

Pidge's eyes stayed rooted to her screen as she called out. "Four clicks to the right."

"No, you'll have to go down, three clicks," Shiro called.

"Not a good idea," Lotor added. "We're essentially gliding over a plane. No considerable gaps."

Allura huffed lightly.

Coran bit the inside of his lip as he looked back up to the front view. They had wormholed right into this mess. Somehow, the long-range scanners hadn't picked up this massive expanse of an asteroid field. Though, it looked more like a rocky debris field mixed with a dust cloud. There was barely any room to maneuver, but they didn't have much of a choice. They were surrounded on all sides and planes, and unless they wanted to be bombarded they had to keep moving.

That, and the beacon they were following was just up ahead. Coran had theorized, if the base was in fact among this asteroid field, it was likely on the biggest object here and had been rooted to the monument with a considerable amount of engineering to keep it from suffering the normal side effects of, well, being situated in the middle of an asteroid field.

"Coran," Shiro called.

Coran averted his gaze to see Shiro looking at the front view screen.

Shiro pointed. "Could that be it, that cluster over there?"

Pidge piped up from her console. "I think Shiro might be on to something. I'm getting a stronger gravitational reading from over there. It's several points over the high end of the spectrum. It could be artificial."

"But is that the right direction?" Allura questioned, pulling up a holo-map of the field.

Coran eyed the holoforms as he watched her move the map around. The cluster Shiro had pointed to was in fact a few clicks off course. But it was the closest large cluster in the vicinity of the beacon. "It could be interference from the asteroid field causing a slight discrepancy. Or it could be that the equipment broadcasting the signal long-range is situated away from the base itself."

"What sense does that make?" Lotor questioned, looking to Coran.

"You have to remember," Coran raised a brow, "This base is ancient, definitely now if it wasn't then. The equipment in question may not be as streamlined and functional as what we have now."

"I see," Lotor looked back to his screen, expression thoughtful.

Coran eyed him for a moment before turning to Allura. "I'm with Shiro. We should investigate."

Allura nodded. "Alright, guide me through."

The new direction was slow going. Even slower than their original course. The amount of material seemed to be increasing as they inched along. But it soon became apparent why.

The items were drawn to the stronger gravity field, but they were simultaneously being repelled by an opposing field. Coran could have smiled as they breached the wall of debris and entered clear space. But his eyes alighted on their target and sudden anxiety forced him to keep his face schooled.

The base was situated into the side of a large meteor, looking as if it had been carved right out of the rock. The main spires stood tall and imposing, branching out of the rock faces and reaching upward like spindly fingers around the main structure. There were several more smaller spires trailing away from the central complex, the connecting tunnels apparently burrowed through the rock as there were none visible on the surface.

The complex had definitely seen better days. The dark metal looked beat up and somehow weathered, despite being in the emptiness of space and protected by an artificial gravity field. Several of the spires had considerable damage, one even had an entire top portion complexly missing, the inside exposed to the expanse of space. The damage to the auxiliary structures wasn't what had Coran worried though.

There was a massive crack spiderwebbing along the top and front of the main building. The infrastructure didn't appear to be affected, making it look like only the outer hull had been damaged. But that wasn't a guarantee.

Lance stood from his seat to get a better look. "This is looking bad."

Shiro followed suit. "What happened here?"

Coran swallowed the growing lump in his throat. "We'll find out."

Lotor stood straight and crossed his arms, eyes also glued to the complex. "And how do you plan to get in?"

Coran felt an itch of aggravation tickle the back of his neck. "Why do you ask?" His violet eyes were poised as Lotor's brilliant blue caught his gaze.

The royal raised a brow ever-so-slowly. "I've encountered these before during my travels. Though, I could only speculate as to their purpose." He looked back to the front view. "They are nigh impossible to penetrate."

If Coran had been of a lesser personage, he may have let the sudden anger that dripped down his spine move his arms to throttle the man… because he knew exactly what Lotor had left out of that statement. Instead, he merely stood to his full height, smoldering gaze betraying his icy mask. "That's simply because you weren't doing it right." He turned to Allura. "Lotor stays here with Shiro. I'll be accompanying you and the rest of the team to the surface."

Everyone's shock at the sudden statement filled the room like a malleable haze.

"Um," Shiro rubbed the back of his neck as he looked between Coran and Allura, "Why, uh, is that?" he asked, obviously trying not to be awkward but obviously failing in the attempt.

"Because," Coran said, wasting no more time in getting away from his console and their guest, "I'm the only one here who knows how to get in."

"Is that so?" Lotor questioned.

The hint of amusement and subtle arrogance permeating Lotor's voice was just what was needed to make his already wavering self-control snap from his grasp.

"Tell me, your majesty," Coran shot, stopping short halfway to the door and spinning to level a venomous glare, "Just _how many_ of our installations did you drive to self-destruct in your attempt to claw your way in because you didn't know how to open the front door?"

The room rang with silence.

Lotor's naturally smooth expression was suddenly gone, replaced with a mask of nothingness that likely hid a mind feverishly trying to calculate the best way to get out of answering the question.

While Coran had no intention of letting Lotor off the hook, it appeared he didn't have to yank the line. Allura apparently wasn't about to let him get out of it either.

"How many, Lotor?" the princess asked, her voice grim and her expression somber.

Lotor's eyes darted to hers and he remained quiet for a few moments longer. Finally, his tilted his head forward, a small huff of a breath escaping his nose in defeat. "Three," he answered. "After the third, I abandoned all attempts to study them."

Coran clenched his teeth, feeling the muscles in his jaw strain as he kept his arms crossed stiffly behind his back. He took a deep breath, standing tall once more. "As I said. Lotor stays here with Shiro. Being the only one who knows exactly what to do to get in, it only makes sense that I go with you." He finally averted his fiery stare and turned to continue off the bridge. "Besides, I'm also the only one here versed in the operations of these bases. I can't simply tell you what to do as any small mistake might get you all killed."

He didn't wait for any other word from anyone else, quickly exiting through the bridge threshold and heading towards the elevator. He hadn't said it, and he didn't want to. But he had a feeling everyone had picked up on what he wasn't speaking out loud.

They had no way of knowing if the bases Lotor had tried to get into also had sleeping Alteans inside. For that matter, they had no way of knowing if any of the others had survivors either.

Coran's feet trailed to a stop just in front of the elevator doors. His eyes were glued to the floor as he started to feel the magnitude of what that thought meant. And, as quickly as his anger at Lotor had come, it started to fade away and make room for guilt.

He hadn't once thought to check the perimeter installations for survivors.

He'd surreptitiously searched the castle's logs for previously recorded beacons to get an idea of if there had been any during the millennia he and Allura had been asleep. But the data only showed evidence that any survivors had been hunted down or had disappeared completely within the first century after the fall of Altea. The thought of it had been so hard to handle… and they'd had so much to do as it was… he had quickly put it into the far reaches of his mind, immediately giving up on the thought that anyone other than himself and Allura had made it out of the genocide.

Coran closed his eyes, his head dipping down. He wasn't sure he could handle this. It was so strange that all at once this barrage of memory and emotion had come upon him.

 _Funny,_ he thought. _Perhaps that trip to Oriande was a catalyst in more than one way._

 **.:\\\v/:.**

* * *

 **Thank you for the read! Have a good day, or night and a wonderful time~  
**


	3. Chapter 3

****Disclaimer: I own nothing of Voltron: Legendary Defender. All belongs to Dreamworks. I only claim the storyline and OC's.****

* * *

 **.:Chapter 2:.**

He had a sneaking suspicion that even if there wasn't any artificial gravity being generated on this huge space rock, the ball of anxiety in his stomach would probably have weighted him down to it regardless.

Coran swallowed through the bundle of nerves in his throat as he stepped out of the shuttle in front of the paladins. He regarded the complex with reserve, taking in the main building's cracked surface and the tall spires of it's perimeter. Despite the damages, the dark metal structure stood tall and proud.

 _Just like Ira and Io_ , he thought offhandedly. He shook his head minutely, brows drawing down as he worked to shut his mind off from unnecessary thoughts.

"You alright there, Coran?" Hunk asked, taking out his Bayard and materializing his cannon.

"Oh- yes, just fine!" Coran answered. "Suit's a bit tight. It's been a while." That wasn't a lie. His space suit, similar in design to the one Allura used to wear, only with the advisor's blue markings where hers had been pink, was in fact out if use. He looked over himself, patting the material at his arms before taking a moment to stretch. "Definitely tighter around the shoulders than I remember." He pulled his arm across the front of his neck, trying to loosen the material at that shoulder, before doing the same to the other. "Just got to get it broken in again," he said with a smirk. "Oh, and Hunk…"

Hunk looked to him curiously.

"Put your Bayard away," Coran ordered, his tone becoming serious.

Hunk went wide-eyed. "What? But what if-"

"That goes for everyone," Coran said loudly, turning to the others. "The thing to keep in mind is this base is likely under strict automated self-defense protocol. Preferably, you shouldn't even have your Bayards, but because of the circumstances I'll insist you simply keep them deactivated." He crossed his arms, eyeing every single one of them sternly. "This base will assume any foreign entities not recognized by its system are enemy combatants if armed and demonstrating tactical body language. It is imperative that you follow my instruction to the letter and act as casual as you can manage when not doing so. If the motion sensors receive any input that predicts you to be a threat, the defenses _will_ come online, and _will_ fire on sight. Understood?"

The Paladins looked amongst themselves. Allura stepped forward, concern radiating through her visor. "Are you sure, Coran?"

"Yeah," Pidge tilted her head and crossed her arms. "I thought you said this was a research facility? Why would it have such an intense defense system?"

"Good question!" Coran raised a pointed finger. "This base is situated on the outermost fringes of documented space. As such, it is not prone to cross traffic of any kind. With any Altean bases in such circumstances, safety was of the utmost-"

Lotor's voice chimed in through the comm. "I believe I speak for everyone here when I say this already doesn't sound believable."

Coran could have physically growled. He let his hand drop back to his arm. "If you'd let me _finish!_ " He glanced to the ship then back to the paladins. "In all such circumstances, safety was of the utmost importance. Hence, they all had robust self defense systems in place. However, this one…" He couldn't stop himself from looking back over to the complex. "This one was obviously different. Being that I don't know the nature of the project, I couldn't tell you why they felt the need to be so cautious. But they did." He looked down as he tapped his fingers on his arm. "One of the few things I was aware of was that they treated it like a high ranking military facility. As such, they outfitted it with the most advanced security protocols we had at that time."

He then heaved a sigh, his shoulders slumping lightly. "In all honesty, it is possible that there isn't enough power to supply to the grid, but we must assume everything is still working correctly and proceed with caution." He then raised a brow, averting his gaze. "Well… proceed casually… you know what I mean."

Lance's nervous voice came through on the comm. "Uuum, Coran?" All heads turned to look up at the Red Lion, floating in the space between the castle and the meteor. "What does that mean for me?"

"This only pertains to us as we will be the ones entering the facility," Coran answered.

"Are you sure?" Lance asked. "I mean, I don't wanna try to get close to help you guys out of a bind and then this place activate and go nuclear on me."

Coran huffed. "You'll be fine, Lance. And so will we." He turned to look back to the base. "I hope…" he muttered.

"What?" Lance shot.

"Nothing! Off we go!" Coran chimed, pointing ahead and starting forward briskly. "All of you, do as I said and hurry up. We shouldn't be wasting any more time."

The paladins did as requested, each storing their Bayards at their sides before following. The group trekked over the rocky surface with ease, though it became obvious that, while it was now chopped up and hewn rough, it had at one point been smooth. Coran couldn't help but feel unease at the sight. He looked up, spying the asteroid field above them. The dust and rocks were holding steady, floating around just beyond the invisible barrier that was the gravity field keeping them at bay. He looked again to the base, eyes scanning the structure and auxiliary spires.

He felt Allura's hand on his shoulder. "Have you been here before?"

He shook his head. "No. I only had knowledge of the location." He then tilted his head to her curiously. "Why do you ask, Princess?"

Allura removed her hand but stayed close. "I can't help but think it shouldn't look like this."

Through the twisting sensation in his stomach, Coran managed a rueful chuckle. "Most certainly it shouldn't."

Hunk strayed closer to his other side. "What do you think caused it?"

"Yeah?" Pidge chimed from her place on Allura's right. "It almost looks like it could have been damage caused by impacts, but the gravity field appears to be working just fine."

Coran nodded. "Very true. It is possible sometime in the past that the gravity generators went offline for a time but then came back up." He was quiet a moment, eyes darting to the spire far off to the right that had most of the top missing. He looked back to the massive wound to the outer hull of the main structure. "I don't think that's all that's happened though."

The Red Lion started hovering to the side, following the line of the complex. "Do you think they were attacked?" Lance asked.

Coran didn't respond. He didn't want to say it aloud, but he supposed it was the most obvious conclusion.

He looked to either side of the group, spotting the remains of an outer courtyard wall. He scanned the area in front of them more closely and could pick out the portions of the surface that made up the courtyard sections. All of It was broken and chopped up, but he could see ahead where the front walkway was still smooth, albeit covered in rocky debris. "Good," he said lowly.

"What was that?" Allura questioned.

Coran pointed to the walkway and the large entryway of the main building. "We need that area intact, and it looks like it is. That's the primary- whehuh!"

The others made noises of surprise alongside him as they all started to float upward.

Pidge waved her arms. "Seriously!?"

Hunk wobbled in place. "Eehheh- looks like you were right, guys! But what- taahahh!"

No sooner had their feet cleared all opportunity for purchase on the uneven surface, they were suddenly tossed back down to it. Coran and Allura landed on their feet with ease, while Pidge stumbled into a crouch and Hunk toppled backwards.

"So, the grav generators are malfunctioning," Pidge commented, standing and looking back to the ship. "Guys-"

"Is the beacon still broadcasting?" Coran interrupted urgently. All eyes turned to him as he stared at the complex door. "Yes or no, is it on?"

"Yes," Shiro answered. "It did fluctuate, though."

"We need to hurry." He wasted no more time, starting forward at a jog.

While proving their speculation as to the cause of the surface damage of the base, the fluctuation was also further evidence of the reason they were there: the power failure. If they didn't get to the pods in time, then the Alteans inside wouldn't survive the final shut down.

As they got within a few yards of the door, Coran stopped and held his arm out. The others stopped just behind him. He scanned the doorway, making sure the threshold and mantle looked intact. He then looked at the rounded triangle of the front walkway. He couldn't help a grin. The lay-lines were intact as well.

"Alright, all of you, stand here." He stepped into the walkway and pointed to the outer edge, separated into it's own V-shaped section. "Stay within this section and do not move out of it until I say so."

"Why?" Pidge asked, though she and the other two did as requested.

"No time for questions, just don't move," Coran insisted, looking over their positions before nodding. "And when I say don't move, I mean literally. Stay completely motionless, you understand?" He looked up at them sternly, a sudden edge to his voice leaving little room for retort.

Allura, Hunk and Pidge all nodded nearly in unison, their demeanors suddenly drenched in apprehension.

Coran nodded before turning back and started to the door. _One, two, three, four, five,_ he counted. Five steps to the door. _Just like it should be._ He looked up to the top of the doorway's arch, his helmet only inches from the surface. He took a deep breath. _Please let me remember the whole thing,_ he thought desperately.

He let his breath out and lowered his head, then leaned forward. He let his helm touch the door surface before raising his arms, holding his hands up and touching them to the door as if supporting himself. He then dropped them quickly, raised his head and turned on his heel. He looked straight ahead past the paladins and stepped forward. He counted his strides, one, two, three, and four. He stopped short. He turned on his heel again, turning to face the door. He stepped forward, counting his steps back to the door, one, two, and three, stopping short one stride. He stood straight and raised his arms from his sides, stopping them once they reached horizontal, as if he were forming a "T". He rotated them, aiming his palms up, before rotating them back, his palms facing the ground again. He then raised them up, bending at the elbow and letting his flattened hands touch fingertips just above his helmet, making sure to keep his back and shoulders straight the whole time. He then bent his right knee, dropping down. When he felt his knee touch the ground, he moved his arms, straightening them back out horizontally before moving them down, bending his elbows as if crossing his arms behind his back, but instead resting the flats of the backs of his hands against the small of his back, his fingertips touching again. He then bent at the waist, as if kneeling before an official, bowing his head as he did so.

For a few moments, he stayed that way, completely motionless. After several tiks passed, he started to feel a hint of dread. _Oh, pleeeease tell me there's enough power to operate the quiznacking-_ A loud grating noise cut through his inner doubt. His head shot up and his eyes went wide.

The door was slowly opening in front of them, tracklights flaring to life along the mantle and threshold. Other lights along the sides of the building were coming on too, but they were more unstable, flickering wildly.

Coran grinned, jumping to a stand. "Yes, yes, yes! Thank goodness!" He turned to the others. "You can move now!"

Allura, Hunk and Pidge were staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

"What…" Hunk pointed at Coran and then the door. "What was that?" he asked incredulously.

Coran couldn't help a smirk. "That, young paladin, was how you open the door."

Allura tilted her head as she radiated utter confusion. "Why do I have no memory of this?"

At that, Coran's smirk faltered. "I'll tell you while we walk. Come on," He waved them in after him, the whole team making it through the door before it had even fully opened. That was worrisome, but all the more reason to hurry.

"This base, and many others like it, was outfitted with motion sensor defense technology," he started. "It is based solely on the principle of body language analyzation. The going theory was that your body language tells more about you and your intentions than anything else. If you had ill will, then this technology was devised to predict that and act accordingly."

Allura shook her head. "Right, you said that outside, but how does that apply to the door?"

"Simple." Coran answered, "Anyone seeking entry, instead of a passcode or identification key, has to prove they are unarmed and friendly by following the clarification choreography. That allows the scanners built into the door and walkway to scan your person and identify you as a nonthreat."

"Oh." Allura was quiet a moment. "Alright… I'll give you that. But how is it I never learned of this?"

Coran bit the inside of his lip, eyes scanning the atrium as they made their way to the airlock. "I honestly don't remember if there was a reason behind it," He answered. "I find it hard to believe Alfor forgot to teach it to you, but on the other hand, I don't know if he had reached a point yet where he had the opportunity to."

"Why not just teach me when I was studying them?" Allura asked.

They reached the airlock door and Coran placed his hand on the access pad to the side. "You were taught standard knowledge, Allura. I don't believe this included an extensive curriculum concerning the defense systems and…" he couldn't help a pause, "... and wartime protocol," he finished solemnly.

Allura took a breath to respond but then went quiet. "I guess you have a point."

A chime was heard overhead as the door finally responded to Coran. The time it took for it open, then close behind them once they'd entered the airlock, and then for the room to pressurize and fill with the base atmosphere was excruciatingly slow. A few ticks off was to be expected, but this was approaching at least 60 ticks for each exchange, and even for the old bases such as this one, that was not a norm.

 _Further proof of the imminent shutdown,_ Coran thought anxiously.

The inner door chimed and started opening just as slowly as the outer. Coran held his breath. The view revealed to them slowly but surely was… disturbing.

They stood staring into the outer sanctum, consisting of a large, wide hall that encircled the inner sanctum which was the area they were attempting to get to. Debris was everywhere, bits and pieces of paneling, wiring and rocks littering the floor. A fine layer of dust was pooled and piled everywhere. There was also a haze of it floating in the air from the recent gravity malfunction. Gauges and scratches covered the floor and surfaces, making it obvious this was only the latest of many such malfunctions in the past.

Coran swallowed his nerves. "Come along," he said, waving them forward with him. "We can walk fast, even run if we have to, but don't touch your Bayards." They followed along diligently, the group's footsteps muffled as they kicked up dust from the floor.

Pidge touched her helmet, scanning the area as they hurried through the door. "Coran, a lot of this doesn't appear to be the result of average wear and tear. There shouldn't be so many loose pieces and-"

"I know," Coran cut her off. Silence crowded into the dusty air with them as they crossed the threshold of one of the sanctum doors.

"Do you think it was Galra?" Allura finally asked.

Coran shook his head. "It'll only be speculation until we get into the base logs," he said distractedly, eyes scanning the archways of the inner sanctum as they approached the central column. The lifts still appeared to be functional, at least the one facing them was, track lights lit brightly with very little fluctuation. "Good, we may not have to climb through the ducts."

Hunk sighed none-too-quietly. "Thank goodness," he muttered under his breath.

Coran touched the control panel and felt his already barely bridled anxiety raise a notch as the door opened with the same painful slowness as experienced with the airlock. He took a deep breath, a twitch of a headshake escaping him as he and the others stepped onto the platform.

The trip to the top seemed to last a lifetime.

Coran found himself clenching and relaxing his fists repeatedly at his sides as he stared at the seam of the elevator door. He reasoned he shouldn't be quite so anxious about this. He shouldn't be quite so worried, quite so sick to his stomach. This wasn't much different than the last Altean emergency beacon they'd investigated.

Except it was.

This time it was real. This time, the outcome really did depend on them. And this time, both he and Allura personally knew at least two of the people they should find here.

"It's gonna be okay, you guys."

He gasped lightly, not realizing he'd forgotten to breathe. He turned to see Pidge's concerned eyes darting between himself and Allura. "We're right here, and they're just up there. It'll be okay," she assured.

Coran looked to Allura, seeing her expression mirroring how he felt. Apparently, she was feeling as much of this as he was. And, evidently, they were both terrible at hiding it.

Allura kept his gaze and gave a small smile, her eyes betraying her own anxiousness. She then looked to Pidge with a nod. "I hope you're right."

Coran took another deep breath as he turned back to the door. They could feel as much as hear the elevator platform grating to a halt. He clenched his fists tightly again as the doors started inching open.

Dread dropped into his stomach like a rock.

The control room, which doubled as the cryo-chamber, was wrecked. There were whole panels missing from the ceiling, cording and ducting hanging from the empty spaces. One of the four room screens was completely shattered while the one across from it seemed to be putting on a light show, lights from the display flickering and fluttering across it's surface. The other two remained blacked out, there being barely enough power to even activate the control room's overhead lights. And of those, only two were working. The general state of the room wasn't the most disturbing part however.

The stasis pods had been destroyed.

The central dais in the middle of the room had bits and pieces of them all over it. Coran's feet seemed to move on their own, and he could practically feel the tension from Allura behind him. His heart pounded in his chest as he bounded up the steps. A quick glance and estimate of size told him this particular dais was outfitted with six pods. He could make out the outer shells of two, ripped apart and heaped up on the back end. One was literally halfed, one half on each end of the dais. One whole pod, top casing missing and quite empty, was on the far side of the room. Bits and pieces of another were scattered all over the dais and strewn all over the floor of the control room.

Coran clenched his teeth as an ache throbbed to life in his chest. _We aren't here for wreckage, that beacon came on for a reason!_ he thought desperately. His face and ears started to burn as his eyes darted across the floor. _This can't be all there is, this can't be real_ , he thought in a frenzy. He found the first hole in the floor, the now empty sheath that one of these wrecked pods should have been nestled in. His steps followed his gaze and he started circling the dais. Each sheath was missing it's hatch, two of them even showing evidence that the hatches were ripped off. His breath caught in his throat as he made his way around. "Thank you," he breathed.

One hatch was still intact.

His mind jumped into overdrive and he bolted to the control console.

"Coran," Allura's voice was shaky.

"I see it, we have to hurry," he said, placing his hands on the control panel. He could have growled as frustration spiked. The panel was working, but just barely. The three holo-screens flickered to life, but the one on the right continued to flutter in and out of existence while the one on the left kept blurring out of focus. At the very least, it was working and he was grateful for that. He started tapping away, preying in his mind he could remember the universal override access codes that should work for literally _any_ Altean installation that had been functional during his time. "No one go near the hatch while I'm doing this," he ordered. "If I make one slip up and the system takes unkindly to your proximity, it's all over." He didn't elaborate further.

"Coran," Hunk looked around the room, "this place is destroyed! I don't think the defense system is working," he said, eyes darting to the remains of the pods. "I don't think it ever was…"

Coran clenched his teeth as he focused on what he was doing. The system was slow to process his requests. He couldn't even get any reading from the progress window he'd opened on screen. And it was hard to force patience when he could hear his breathing in his helmet and feel his heartbeat in his ears. He let out a small half-growl of a sigh and removed his hands from the panel, fingers finding the seams of his helmet. With a hiss of escaping air, his helmet was off and he shook his head, setting it on the console next to him. The smell of metal and dirt accosted his nose, along with the feint hint of ash. _You may be right_ , he thought, hands darting back to the panel.

Allura came up behind him. "Coran, you shouldn't-"

"The atmosphere in here is fine, and I need to concentrate," he said mechanically. He felt Allura come closer from behind. He was sure she had more to say, but words of protest were not what came next.

"Who's pod is it?"

Allura's question hung high in the frenzy of his mind. "I don't know yet. Trying to find out, now," he answered.

He'd finally managed to get into the system. Now it was navigating to the stasis controls. When he found them, a holographic display illuminated on screen flashing red warning lights over the five sheaths that were obviously missing their pods. He selected the only one glowing blue and active, painfully aware of its distance only two yards behind and to his right.

He looked over the information as it took front and center on the display. "First glance, I'd say its…" his eyes went wide, "damaged," he uttered.

"What!?" Allura closed the distance between them, hand gripping his shoulder tightly as she stared at the display with him.

"Oh no," Hunk said worriedly, glancing to the hatch.

"Damaged how?" Pidge asked in concern.

Coran's gaze darted from one spec to another, noting each minute malfunction and failure message dotting the screen. "Millennia of missed routine maintenance," he answered. "It's functional though… he should be alright."

Allura squeezed his shoulder tighter if possible. "He?"

Coran nodded, his fingers starting back up as he looked for the control menus. "Yes. Based on how this pod is set up, it should be Ira."

"Should be?" Hunk questioned. "You don't know for sure?"

"No," Coran shook his head. "You can't actually assign a pod to someone like writing your name on a box, at least, not with these kind. But you can tell by how they've been adjusted who they may have been intended for. This one is more highly fortified, which is likely why it's lasted longer, or-" he paused, but only for a moment, "or would have outlasted the others even if they had been left intact," he finished quietly.

"That doesn't sound fair!" Pidge said in sudden indignation. "Why is his survival more important than the others'?"

"He's a lord by birth. His bloodline would have deemed it even if he wasn't the head of this project," Coran explained. "But, being the one in charge of this project and having all of the information regarding it in his head and nowhere else, his life becomes more important." His words came quickly, his mind busy with trying to force an override on the stasis system. He didn't have time to think about his statement, or what it meant.

Allura's hand moved from his left shoulder to his right, her arm draped across his back. It was the closest thing to a hug she could give him right that moment. Part of him was thankful for it. Another part rather wished she hadn't acknowledged what he was trying not to think on.

He didn't dwell on it though, fingers moving nearly as fast as his thoughts as he worked, eyes glued to the holo-screens. "Shiro, is the beacon still on?"

"Yes. Should it not be?"

"It should shut off when the override initiates. Let me know when it does. If it shuts off, but nothing happens on our end, we'll know we have a problem," he elaborated.

"Copy that," came Shiro's response.

Pidge looked from Coran to the floor, staring intently at the hatch. "Was Altean society really so focused on bloodlines?" she asked. "I hadn't really gotten that impression."

Allura stood straight, finally moving her hand from Coran's shoulder. "By the time my generation came along, Altea wasn't nearly as feudal as it had been in its history. But yes, there is a certain degree of importance put on bloodlines." Her eyes were focused on the screens for a few moments longer before she turned to face the green Paladin. "For the most part, however, it's due to the abilities past down from one generation to the next, isolated within that distinct family line. One example is my ability to operate the Teleduv. It is unique to my bloodline and certain other noble lines, like Lord Ira's."

"Oh," Pidge tilted her head in curiosity. "So it's because of abilities, not social status?"

"Exactly," Allura nodded. She then glanced away. "Well. Mostly. Like I said, by my time, we weren't as focused on status, but there were plenty of nobles that were completely average while there were some common Alteans that were gifted." She shrugged. "Some things-"

"Got it!" Coran spouted. The screen flickered as the rousing sequence initiated, windows opening with blinking status indicators.

"Coran," Shiro commed, "the beacon has shut off."

"Good," Coran all but whispered, eyes glued to the screen. The status windows gave further view of the pod's condition upon entering the rousing stage. It was worse than it had first appeared. He stood frozen as he waited, several warning indicators popping up onscreen. _Please, oh please, oh please_ , he begged in his head.

With a loud clanking noise, the hatch lock disengaged.

Coran sighed loudly, letting out the breath he'd been holding as he bowed his head, leaning on the console. "One down," he muttered, looking back to the screens. "Allura-"

"I'm on it," she said, already stepping away from him and taking position in front of the pod.

Pidge stepped back. "Why, what's wrong?" Hunk closed the distance to her side, apprehension thick on his face.

"Nothing's wrong," Allura said, eyes focused on the pod now starting to slide ever-so-slowly up from it's sheath. "It'll just be best if a familiar face is the first thing he sees."

Coran swallowed nervously, the smooth sound of metal gliding on metal hardly soothing his mind as he listened to the pod raise, gaze still fixed at the screens. All status windows indicated this thing was about to fail any tick, especially now that it was expending more energy and trying to use more of the ever-dwindling power supply of the base. Seeing more of the malfunctions in the system and damages that weren't displayed earlier, he wondered just how well it had been operating this whole time.

He wasn't sure what state Lord Ira was actually going to be in when the pod opened.

"Coran?" He looked to see Allura staring with concern.

He looked to the pod as well. The top cryofield of the pod, which should have been a transparent icy blue, was instead a mottled muddy grey color, barely allowing them to make out just a feint hint of a form inside. He looked back to the screens as the pod finally clicked into place, the security locks latching loudly at the bottom. By now all the status indicators were flashing brilliant red. "Just… just wait," he managed, the anxiety in his stomach all but freezing him in place as he monitored the display. "It's still… it's working. Just slowly." No sooner had he finished his words, the rousing sequence flashed complete and the indicator blinked green.

What should have been a fine, whispery hiss was instead a crackling, raspy noise as the cryofield disintegrated.

Allura's gasp echoed through the room.

Coran closed his eyes as his anxiety jumped into his throat. He was afraid to look.

"Is that Lord Ira?" Hunk asked uncertainly.

Allura shook her head. "N- no! It's Io!"

Coran's eyes flew open and he nearly broke his neck with how fast he spun around.

Standing in the pod was a tall Altean in a black and grey uniform. Pale skinned, very lean, with emerald marks and black hair tied in a high tail. Her eyes were still closed.

Allura stepped forward. "Io? Io, can you hear me- Eee!" Allura jolted forward to catch Io as she fell face first out of the pod. She knelt the floor cradling Io's limp body close to hers. "Coran!"

He'd already bolted from the console, sliding to a stop and dropping to his knees in front of them. "Io," he whispered, reaching for her head and cradling it carefully. He leaned close, placing his ear to her nose and mouth; no movement of air. He moved back, left hand maneuvering her head as his right went to her neck, placing fingers at her throat. He let out a frustrated growl before shipping his hand to his face, using his teeth to tug at the airtight seam where his glove met his suit sleeve. Only another tick and he had his glove between his teeth, bare fingers now replaced at the side of her neck. He repositioned them. Then again. He lowered his head as a small sigh left him, glove falling from his mouth.

Her pulse was feint. But it was there.

"She's alive," he whispered. He held Io's head in place as Allura shuttered with a sigh of her own.

"She's not looking good, though," Pidge said from behind him.

Coran raised his head and took a moment to lean back and actually look at the newly revived Altean. He bit his lip.

Io had always been lean, but never thin. Her extra pronounced cheek and brow bones and the feel of her neck under his fingers gave further testimony. He looked her over and noted that her uniform, which should be perfectly form fitting like his own, was loose around the waist and had more wrinkles than it should have at her shoulders and elbows.

Coran shook his head. "The pod hadn't been running the way it should. Without doing a full diagnostic, I couldn't tell you the true extent of it's malfunction. But she'll be lucky if all that happened was a loss of muscle mass."

"We don't know that," Allura said worriedly. "We need to get her to the Castle now. Preferably before this base shuts down completely and we have to try to force our way out."

Coran looked to her and nodded. "You're right." He glanced back to Io's face. "Lets-" he stopped short.

Io was trying to open her eyes.

He leaned closer, bringing his hand from her neck to carefully run a thumb over her brow. He hadn't noticed her take a deep breath and she hadn't moved. He couldn't tell if she was actually waking up. "Io, if you can hear me, it's alright," he said. "We have to take you to the castle. It won't be very…" His words faded as her eyes finally wrenched open.

Warm brown irises with faded gold pupils focused on him.

He couldn't help a small smile, though he knew his concern was written across his face. "Hello, Io. Welcome to the-"

Pain exploded into his senses as his head was thrust back, the butt of Io's palm colliding with is chin so fast he could have sworn it was electricity. He felt a knee to his chest and grit his teeth as he landed on his back, the back of his scull smacking painfully into the metal floor.

"Whoa-whoa!" came Hunk's panicked voice.

"Io! Stop!" Allura commanded urgently.

He barely processed the others' words as he heard thuds on either side of himself and felt fingers dig painfully into his hair. He forced his eyes open just in time to see Io's eyes glinting above him, right arm launching forward, hand poised with pointed fingers aiming right for his throat. Sheer impulse rushed his mind, left hand flying to her wrist at his head as he flung his right hand up to her face. "Io, it's me!"

In an instant, everything stopped.

Coran was shaking, Io's fingers barely a hair's breadth from his neck as he stared at what he could see of her face. Her eyes were focused on his palm, her own expression deceptively blank.

It was only a few ticks, though they seemed to last forever, before recognition fluttered across Io's face. Her eyes widened and that expressionless mask she wore so easily broke. "Coran… wha…" Her eyes had no sooner darted from his hand to his face when her strength suddenly failed her. She'd already been on her knees above him but she fell forward as her legs gave out.

"Whoa, it's alright!" Coran said quickly, arms moving to catch her as he sat up. He was immediately alarmed; the flare of energy she'd shown was completely gone. She leaned against him heavily and seemed unable to move. "You're going to be alright," he said, leaning forward as he gripped her shoulders to move her back on his lap. His concern rose a notch as her head hung. "Io, look at me," he instructed, leaning his own head down as he reached up and gripped her jaw gently. He pulled her face up, noticing how her eyes were heavily lidded. She looked on the verge of passing out.

"Wait a minute," Coran whispered his own eyes going wide. He held her more securely against him and moved his hand from Io's jaw to her face, using his thumb to carefully push her eyelid up.

Her sclera were bloodshot and her eyes were unfocused. _No… not unfocused_ , he thought. "Oh no," he breathed.

Allura knelt to his side, hand on his shoulder. "What? What's wrong?" she asked urgently.

Coran stared, making sure of what he was seeing. "Her pupils are quivering."

"Wha-what does that mean?" Hunk asked nervously. "I mean, I'm sure that's bad, but how bad?"

Coran didn't answer immediately. He stared, examining her eyes and her face as if this were a dream. Considering her condition, and what he suspected it meant, he was afraid said dream might be turning into a nightmare. _What happened, Io?_

Pidge's voice cut through his mental processes. "Coran?"

Coran blinked and finally looked to Allura. "We have to get her back to the Castle." His eyes darted to Pidge and Hunk. "Now!"

Both Hunk and Pidge jumped lightly but nodded. Allura moved and gripped Io under the shoulders helping to pull her up while Coran stood. He made sure Io was securely nestled against Allura's side before heading to the console to get his helmet.

 _You survived this long, Io_ , Coran thought with determination. _You'd better make it to the ship._

 **.:\\\v/:.**

* * *

 **Thank you for the read! Have a good day, or night and a wonderful time~  
**


End file.
